


Darling, Hold My Hand

by MaraSenpai1997



Series: The Actor and the Photographer [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Holding Hands, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 02:16:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10526775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaraSenpai1997/pseuds/MaraSenpai1997
Summary: Seung-gil realised that maybe, after all, Phichitwasthe centre of his universe.~*~"What's this?" Phichit asked softly, lifting up the hand Seung-gil had grabbed. "You want to hold hands?"Seung-gil knew Phichit didn't mean any harm, yet he immediately let go of his friend's hand. A red flush that had nothing to do with the heat crawled up his neck, painting his face red."Never mind," he mumbled and took off, ignoring Phichit's surprised look. It was a stupid idea, he shouldn't have done that- he had been too pushy. Now Phichit-An unmanly squeal passed his lips when a slightly sweaty, rough hand grabbed his. Their fingers slid together perfectly, as they were made to be intertwined.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update this series. I struggle with juggling between different projects, and currently, I'm working on three things at the same time. (I'm finally getting better at naming my stuff XD)
> 
> Alas, I still hope this was worth the wait- somewhat worth the wait. I hope the use of text-message wasn't too annoying, as I never used them before. (And I dislike using them too much, as it takes away from the story.)

Rolling in his bed, unable to really sleep, Phichit scrolled through his Instagram, wondering what he could do the pass the time. It was already well past midnight, but sleep simply didn't want to co-operate. It probably was the heat, as the temperature has risen well above the thirties and his air-conditioner had died a few days ago. In the end, he settled down to scroll through his contacts on Instagram, seeing if anybody was still up and running.

 

First, he wanted to text Yuuri, a friend from college, but before he sends out his greeting, Phichit realised Yuuri currently lived in Russia, which meant it was definitely well past midnight there. Therefore, he deleted his message and went to his second best option, Guang Hong. He too was an old friend of his and a college-mate, one year his junior. He, unlike Yuuri, was still in America, so he shouldn't be annoyed with Phichit's sudden mood to talk.

 

 **[00:38]** Phichit: ‘hi! how are u?’

 

It took Guang Hong decently long to response, something Phichit wasn’t used from his friend. Yes, Yuuri was a bit slow with replying, sometimes forgetting about his phone altogether, but Guang Hong and his phone were inseparable.

 

 **[00:47]** Guang Hong: ‘wtf phichit, it’s past midnight’

 

Checking his own time, making sure he hadn’t been delusional or something along those lines, Phichit felt honestly confused. In America, it probably was just early into the evening. Only here in Europe, it was that late. This either meant Guang Hong had lost all concept of time or he _wasn’t_ in America any longer.

 

 **[00:49]** Phichit: ‘past midnight? where are u, europe?’

 **[00:50]** Guang Hong: ‘yes’

 **[00:51]** Phichit: ‘where in europe?’

 **[00:53]** Guang Hong: ‘UK’

 

Phichit blinked at his phone screen, unable to phantom the coincidence. Guang Hong was also in the United Kingdom. Maybe he even was close-by?

 

 **[00:55]** Phichit: ‘buddy, you in London?’

 **[00:56]** Guang Hong: ‘did you just nick Jonas me?’

 **[00:56]** Phichit: ‘yup, but are u?’

 **[00:57]** Guang Hong: ‘yes, I got work there’

 **[00:57]** Guang Hong: ‘I guess you’re here too?’

 **[00:58]** Phichit: ‘yes, work too’

 **[01:02]** Phichit: ‘want to meet up sometime?’

 **[01:07]** Guang Hong: ‘sure, night’

 

He was almost disappointed seeing Guang Hong ditching him like that. On the other hand, his friend was close-by. He hadn’t seen Yuuri face-to-face since he had been swept off to Russia and he had been too busy to travel back to America to see Guang Hong, who was the only one left in college. Well, at leat last year Guang Hong was still in college.

 

Hanging his phone onto life-support, Phichit curled up into his thin blanket, trying to get comfortable in the summer heat.

 

~*~

 

Seung-gil flexed his fingers nervously, trying to muster up the courage to grab Phichit's hand. For whatever reason, Phichit had asked if he could tag along with Seung-gil after breakfast. Usually, they would part, Seung-gil heading off to work in the centre of London and Phichit would return home, doing whatever stuff he usually did. But Phichit had said he had business in the heart of London so he would stick with Seung-gil for a bit longer.

 

Their fingers brushed a few times as Phichit basically leant on him, not bothering to keep a proper distant between them. Admittedly, it was a bit tricky with the morning crowd bustling around them, trying to make use of the somewhat chilly mornings to get to work without being drenched from head to toe in sweat.

 

Mustering up the courage at one point, Seung-gil snatched Phichit's hands. The hold was awkward, Seung-gil's had just grabbed Phichit's fingers, not properly linking their hands together.

 

His gesture, however, apparently had surprised Phichit as the photographer came to a sudden halt.

 

"What's this?" Phichit asked softly, lifting up the hand Seung-gil had grabbed. "You want to hold hands?"

 

Seung-gil knew Phichit didn't mean any harm, yet he immediately let go of his friend's hand. A red flush that had nothing to do with the heat crawled up his neck, painting his face red.

 

"Never mind," he mumbled and took off, ignoring Phichit's surprised look. It was a stupid idea, he shouldn't have done that- he had been too pushy. Now Phichit-

 

An unmanly squeal passed his lips when a slightly sweaty, rough hand grabbed his. Their fingers slid together perfectly, as they were made to be intertwined.

 

Phichit, who caught up with him, gave him a bright smile before continuing to ramble, not mentioning the fact that they were holding hands of all things. His soulmate easily seemed to forget that they were holding hands. Phichit swung their hands as they walked, sometimes he even pulled Seung-gil along in his excited chatter.

 

No matter how hard he tried, Seung-gil couldn't ignore the feeling. His hand felt sweaty, and he worried that Phichit might be disgusted by it. Phichit's touch was hot, but in a pleasant way, a way that made his heart pound like crazy and his stomach doing summersaults. It was a weird feeling, holding hands, but Seung-gil finally understood the appeal of it.

 

The moment Phichit let go of his hand, when they had to check in for the metro, it felt like a loss. For probably the first time in his life, Seung-gil longed for contact, wanting to feel Phichit's rough skin against his own.

 

Only when they had settled down in the metro, Seung-gil dared to take Phichit's hand in his own, a bright blush painting his cheeks red.

 

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Phichit assured him, looking surprised by his action. Honestly, Seung-gil was also surprised with himself.

 

Biting his lip out of nerves, Seung-gil deliberately avoided Phichit's gaze. "I don't mind," he mumbled, squeezing Phichit's sweaty hand softly. "It's... nice," he eventually added, trying to express his feelings about the whole matter.

 

As if someone had flicked on the sun, Phichit's face brightened up. He should start wearing sunglasses around Phichit, as he shined brighter than a thousand suns. "I've to agree," Phichit chimed. "Though my hands are very sweaty, it can hardly be comfortable."

 

Seung-gil let out a soft, nearly inaudible snort. To his surprise, Phichit actually did hear him, eyebrows twitching slightly, eyes seeking out his eyes. "My hands are sweaty too," he admitted bluntly, wiping off his free hand on his shorts.

 

Laughing like there was no worry in the world, Phichit picked up his previous story, giving Seung-gil some time to take a deep breath and recover from expressing so many emotions at once, something he definitely wasn't used to, even with Phichit being in his life for more than two months.

 

~*~

 

To his surprise, and slight terror, Phichit had the same stop as him. The chance he would run into a co-worker suddenly had gotten big- too big. What if someone actually saw him with Phichit, holding hands at all. It was already bad enough Leo and Guang Hong knew about his soulmate, but they weren't exactly nosey. But once either Yuri or Chris got their claws on Seung-gil's soulmate, he was doomed. They would never let him live it down.

 

"You're okay?" Phichit mumbled, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of his hand. "You look really pale, is something wrong?"

 

Deciding that honestly would get him the furthers, Seung-gil shook his head, followed by a nod. "We're close to my work," he muttered, hoping that Phichit would fill in the blanks.

 

He was forever grateful that Phichit did. At least, at first. "Oh- of course, and you don't want them to see me, as we aren't officially dating and such..."

 

"That's not it," Seung-gil mumbled, realising how wrong it sounded. "It's just..." he took a shaky breath. "You deserve better than me. I would feel terrible for you to be associated with me, who is just an actor who plays in the main in some mediocre play. I don't have a great reputation, you know?"

 

Phichit almost looked offended. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was looking up at him, eyes set in determination. "I'm happy with you," Phichit stated, leaving no room for argument. "If you think you'll ruin my reputation, you're wrong. I have no reputation to keep high- I'm just a decent freelance photographer who manages to earn just enough money to survive. I should be the one who's nervous of ruining your reputation, you're a highly respected actor after all, even if you don't believe it yourself."

 

Flustered and lost for words, Seung-gil did what he knew best, run away from his problems. Though, it was a bit difficult to run away from his problems when the problem was literally holding his hand, refusing to let go. Though, as a few minutes passed by, Seung-gil realised that Phichit wasn't his biggest worry.

 

His soulmate's eyes grew comically large when Seung-gil halted at his workplace. Phichit never had seen where he worked, a detail Seung-gil never had found significant. Till now, apparently.

 

"You work here?" Phichit asked in disbelief.

 

When Seung-gil nodded, Phichit wiped out his phone and started to furiously tap on the screen, leaving him basking in confusion.

 

A minute or so of quiet passed before Phichit slowly pocketed his phone. "This is also my stop," he said slowly, a smile creeping up his face. "I'm visiting an old friend- he invited me over to watch him practice. I hadn't even taken into consideration that you also were an actor- that you also had practice somewhere."

 

Suddenly everything slotted together. When he first had met Phichit, the man's accent had reminded him of Michele. Phichit had mentioned he was from America, from the same state as Michele was. What if Phichit and Michele knew each other? It explained why they had the same accents.

 

"There is air condition in there, right?" Phichit asked somewhat impatiently, tugging Seung-gil along. "It's started to get rather heated out here."

 

Mumbling a soft yes, Seung-gil let himself being dragged along by Phichit. He wondered how Michele and Phichit even could be friends, especially with the former being rather uptight. On the other hand, Phichit was Phichit. He probably was one of the most sociable people Seung-gil had met in his life, and sadly enough, Seung-gil had met many people in his life.

 

The first person who saw them was the receptionist, who watched them with a curious smile. She obviously had noticed their intertwined fingers, and she definitely would recognise Seung-gil. It was hard not to, as he spends an awful lot of time in this building, practising.

 

"Morning Mr Lee," the receptionist greeted him, not at all annoyed or scared off by his grumpy face. "I have to point out that guests usually aren’t allowed at work- though I could make an exception."

 

Seung-gil grew flustered in the face when she gestured to his and Phichit's linked hands.

 

"There is no need for that!" Phichit basically bounced up to the reception, dragging Seung-gil along. "I got invited, here-" Phichit threw a folded piece of paper on the desk, surprising the woman.

 

Curious, she unfolded the paper, read over the words written on it. She hummed approvingly and re-folded it, handing the piece of paper back to Phichit. "I see, Mr Chulanont. If you've a second, I'll fetch the necessary items to let you in."

 

Phichit beamed, and the receptionist disappeared in the back.

 

"Did you hear that? She called me Mr Chulanont," Phichit said giddy, a faint blush painting his cheeks dark. "I never have been called Mister- I suddenly sound old."

 

Almost disappointed, Seung-gil rolled his eyes. "You _are_ old, Phichit."

 

His soulmate gasped in faked hurt. "I'm not," he squeaked, clutching his heart while batting his eyes at Seung-gil. "I'm still in the middle of my youth!"

 

"Sure," Seung-gil mumbled teasingly.

 

Once again, Phichit protested, which resulted in the man pinching his side, causing him to squeak in a pitch much higher than usual. "You’re evil."

 

Phichit stuck out his tongue and focussed his attention back on the receptionist, who had finally returned with a lanyard with a badge attached to it.

 

"Carry this around and you're free to walk around, as long as you don't intervene with work," the receptionist rambled, summing up what probably was standard protocol. "If people ask for your papers- show them- the executives know what a legit invitation looks like."

 

While the receptionist kept on rambling, Seung-gil nervously checked his phone. While he wasn't late, he was still a solid hour before they were supposed to be there, he started to get restless. He was most productive during the morning and currently, the receptionist was chipping away from his productive practice hours.

 

"That’s all," the woman finally said, offering Phichit a bright smile.

 

By the time Phichit had managed to answered with a 'thank you', Seung-gil was already dragging him along.

 

"You know that it's rude not letting people finish talking," Phichit semi-scolded him, but there was some obvious tease. "What got you in such a hurry."

 

Huffing, Seung-gil pushed his hair back with his free hand. He started to regret letting his hair grow out- no matter how much Phichit liked it. It was starting to get impractical. "She was flirting with you," he whispered, cursing himself for even uttering- even thinking those words.

 

A strange noise was ripped out of Phichit's throat. "You're jealous?" the photographer whispered, surprise clear in his voice.

 

Growing suddenly all sweaty again, Seung-gil tried to swallow, ignoring the beating of his heart. "Maybe," he eventually mumbled.

 

Without even looking at Phichit, who was clearly a step-and-a-half behind him, he knew that the man was glowing like the sun, an amazingly bright smile lighting up his features. "Ah, babe, you do love me."

 

He knew that Phichit was teasing, but that didn't make him any less flustered. They weren't dating, they definitely weren't dating, yet Phichit was already dishing out the nicknames- the corny nicknames.

 

"Don't call me that," Seung-gil snapped, though there wasn't much bite behind his words. He didn't want to be called babe- it was awkward, embarrassing, plus the word already had been used to dead. It seemed that the only nickname Leo and Guang Hong had for each other was babe.

 

Phichit caught up with him, throwing him an amused grin. "Why not babe? something wrong with that?"

 

"My friends call each other that," Seung-gil confessed, trying to show his disgust for the nickname through words. "It reminds me of them."

 

Phichit's eyebrows shot up, disappearing almost entirely behind his fringe. "Your friends?" he asked slowly, eyes growing wide with realisation. "Wait- you're a third-wheel? Your friends are dating?"

 

He did not understand what was so bad about the third-wheel. Both Leo and Guang Hong were surprisingly considerate with the amount of PDA they showed around him, especially when they invite him along for either dinner or lunch.

 

To his annoyance, Phichit didn't explain himself any further, leaving Seung-gil to dwell on his thoughts. During that small moment of peace, a terrible realisation hit him. His co-workers would know. They would meet Phichit, and they would know that Phichit was his _soulmate_. They would tease him till the end of time.

 

After his little mental breakdown, Seung-gil decided to just get over with it. As soon as he had dropped Phichit into Michele’s care, he could grab Emil and start practising. As he and Emil had many scenes together, it would be a good excuse, even if they already had nailed down most of their shared scenes.

 

"Where..." Seung-gil started nervously, trying to avoid making the situation much more awkward than it already was. “...are the two of you meeting up?”

 

Phichit blinked, before smiling soft and genuinely, the smile that made his heart race. “The cafeteria.”

 

The cafeteria, no issue, easy to find. He tugged Phichit along and headed to the cafeteria. It was a five-minute walk, in which Phichit was uncharacteristically quiet. On the other hand, Seung-gil had been uncharacteristically chatty, so things were already weird. When they arrived, Phichit actually looked nervous, fixing up his hair.

 

“You look fine,” he blurted out.

 

Phichit grew ridged, big eyes staring up at him. “You think so?”

 

In his opinion, Phichit always looked good. Unlike him, Phichit actually knew how to dress, how to look good in clothes Seung-gil wouldn’t look at twice. It was almost unfair, particularly since his clothing-taste had been criticised many times, both by his manager as by his co-workers, mainly the costume department.

 

“I do,” he forced what was supposed to look like a reassuring smile on his face. “He won’t bite.”

 

Phichit snorted. “The only thing he bites in is food- which he inhales like his life depends on it.”

 

Now he was confused. Michele wasn’t precisely the type that ate a lot, at least not what he had noticed. The one who inhaled food like his life depended on it was Guang Hong...

 

As they entered the cafeteria, Seung-gil realised he had been wrong all along. While yes, Phichit and Michele had the same accent, they weren’t the only two from the same region. Both Leo and Guang Hong had finished college there, but as neither were locals, they didn’t share their accent with Michele and Phichit. So which meant that most likely, assuming Phichit’s description, Guang Hong was Phichit’s friend.

 

Letting Phichit’s hand go, he leant awkwardly against the doorframe. He watched Phichit carefully approaching the only two figures in the cafeteria. Leo and Guang Hong were seated at a table, both looked barely awake. Fast food was spread over their table, which probably was their breakfast. They probably were still mid-breakfast, not expecting Phichit to arrive so early.

 

Seung-gil coughed loudly, catching both brunets their attention. Their focus, however, soon shifted to Phichit, who stood awkwardly between the unoccupied tables and chairs. He was smiling brightly, though Seung-gil noticed the confusion immediately.

 

“Phichit?” Leo sounded confused, probably not believing that Phichit was standing there.

 

Leo’s confusion was clearly shared with him, as Guang Hong and Phichit too looked comically confused.

 

“You know Phichit?” was the second question that followed, Guang Hong eyeing Leo with curiosity.

 

“Of course we know each other,” Phichit said, dramatically throwing his hands up in the air. “Leo is a coffee-addict, he was a regular customer at my work.”

 

Leo laughed, pushing his hair out his face. “I was going to ask the same,” the brunet admitted, eyes sparkling with life. There they go- being their usual, disgusting selves. The sweet smiles, the all-knowing looks that left the rest puzzled. “But my guess would be from college?”

 

Guang Hong smiled brightly, nodding. However, Seung-gil’s attention was no longer focussed on the two brunets. Phichit was staring at him, a question written all over his face.  So it _actually_ was obvious, the attraction between Leo and Guang Hong.

 

Phichit mouthed the word ‘soulmates’, followed by an exaggerated questioning look. Smiling slightly, cursing himself for being that emotionally affected by Phichit, Seung-gil nodded.

 

“I can’t believe this!” Phichit threw his hands up the air. “You actually did sing?”

 

Seung-gil was sure he was missing out on something, as Guang Hong grew red in the face, Leo smiled tenderly, and Phichit whooped in joy. Of course Guang Hong did sing, his job required him to sing.

 

“Shut it, Phichit,” Guang Hong mumbled, looking like an overripe tomato.

 

While Guang Hong and Phichit had a non-verbal argument, something that already made his head ache, Leo took his sweet time to eye him with curiosity. To his horror, Leo’s gaze went to Phichit and then back. After he had done that a few times, the brunet’s entire face lit up.

 

Leo didn’t even have to speak, Seung-gil had gotten good at reading people’s their expression. Leo’s expression was a mix of a question and happiness. ‘You and Phichit?’ and ‘I’m happy for you.’

 

“Jesus, it’s eight in the morning, why the noise?”

 

Seung-gil stepped sideways as Michele, followed by Emil, entered the cafeteria. Michele looked annoyed and slightly tired, which wasn’t exactly surprising, as the man wasn’t exactly a morning person. But his annoyance was nothing compared to the expression that followed. The American grew grey in the face, a horror-struck expression painted his features. So, Phichit and Michele knew each other after all.

 

“Who let him in,” Michele hissed, eyes currently set on Seung-gil.

 

Not impressed by Michele’s threat, Seung-gil rolled his eyes. “I did- but Guang Hong invited him.”

 

There was a brief moment of confusion on Michele’s face before his eyes grew comically wide. “Is he your, you know,” Michele made a vague gesture to Emil, who looked utterly confused by what was going on.

 

“Yes,” he never had expected to say the word ‘yes’ with so much pride, but he was proud that Phichit of all people was his soulmate. He doubted anyone else would’ve taken things as slow as Phichit.

 

Michele remained quiet for a brief moment, expression surprisingly soft. “How long?”

 

“Two months and a week,” Seung-gil said without even having to think. It was integrated into his brain, a number that would never leave him.

 

“So you finally have found the centre of your universe, haven’t you?”

 

He eyed Phichit, who was now playfully arguing with Guang Hong. His soulmate obviously hadn’t noticed Michele yet, too caught up his friends love life. A rare smile curled up his lips, earning him a surprised look from Emil. “I guess so.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **Important:**  
>  While not necessarily an issue, for this first time I have some references to the mother fic of this series, [ Actual Disney Prince(ss) ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9092980)  
> The 'You actually did sing' reference to Guang Hong's and Leo's first meeting, which can be found in the **third** chapter of the mother fic.  
>  The 'Centre of your universe' reference to a conversation Seung-gil and Michele had before, which can be found in the **seventh** chapter.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated per usual, just like constructive criticism. 
> 
> **Title:** Hold My Hand - Jess Glynne


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